Swimming glove



W. C- NICHQL SWIMMING GLOVE Nov. 13, 1962 Filed April 14, 1960 INVENTOR. WA/PRE N C. N/CHOL 17% .v) Ar TO/PNEVS United States Patent Ofifice 3,063,070 Patented Nov. 13, 1962 3,063,070 SWIMMING GLOVE Warren C. NichoL'S'an Mateo, Calif. Filed Apr. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 22,167 1 Claim. (Cl. 9-308) This invention relates to animproved swimming glove of the multiple web type.

At the present time there is considerable interest in swimming, and more particularly in skin diving in which a swimmer carries oxygen tanks and stays under water for an extended time. The equipment carried by the skin diver is usually bulky and offers considerable resistance. As a consequence, it is common practice to use devices which improve the swimmers efiiciency. For example, fins are often worn on a swimmers feet to improve the power developed by kicking.

Swimming gloves or mitts have also been used, but until this invention, so far as I know, such gloves hampered the use of the wearers fingers. Consequently, the swimming gloves used in the past had to be removed to give the swimmer use of his fingers. This is not only time consuming, but often results in the gloves being lost or misplaced.

This invention provides a swimming glove which provides a web for the swimmers hands, and yet permits the swimmer to use his fingers almost as easily as if he were wearing no glove at all.

Briefly, the invention contemplates a glove to be worn on the hand of a swimmer. The glove includes a sheet of material of such size and shape to extend across the span of the swimmers hand and form a web between adjacent fingers. Means are provided for securing the sheet to the palm of the swimmers hand to permit the ends of the swimmers fingers to extend beyond the sheet when desired.

In the preferred form of the invention, the glove includes a second sheet secured to the first to form a flat pocket open at a wrist portion and open at the finger portion to permit the wearers fingers to protrude from the glove. Thus, the ends of the fingers are free for various types of operations without requiring the glove to be removed from the hand and thereby eliminating the possibility of the glove being lost or temporarily misplaced.

The glove makes a slip fit on the hand so that it can be moved out to the very tips of the fingers for maximum power when swimming and when the fingers are not required for intricate operations. When the fingers are to be used for underwater manipulations, or even for operations out of the water, such as holding a cigaret, operating the choke of a boat, etc., the glove is simply pulled slightly farther onto the hand to leave the fingers free. This feature has the advantage of still providing a substantial web between adjacent fingers even though the fingers are free to be used, and thus facilitates intermittent swimming and use of the fingers, or use of the fingers while swimming.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the swimmers hand in the extended and retracted positions;

the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a swimming glove 10 includes a first or bottom sheet 12 approximately fanshaped, and of such size and shape as to span the hand of a swimmer. A second or top sheet 14 of exactly the same size and shape as the first sheet is secured to the first sheet along side edges 16 by thermal bonding or by stitching. The glove is open across a wrist portion 18, and across the opposite edge or finger portion 20 so that the fingers of the swimmer can protrude from the glove as shown in solid line. The two sheets of the glove are secured together along laterally spaced and generally radially extending sections 22 from the edge of the finger portion of the glove to an area in the intermediate part of the glove to form finger sections 24 shown most clearly in FIG. 2.

In using the glove for swimming, the swimmer slips it on his hand so that the tips of the fingers are in approximately the phantom. line position as shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the glove provides a maximum web for the hand when maximum swimming power is desired. When the wearer wishes to use his fingers without removing the glove, he simply slips the glove farther onto his hand until the ends of the fingers protrude as shown in solid line in FIG. 1.

The glove is made of relatively flexible material such as polyethylene plastic, and can easily be deformed to give as much finger clearance as is necessary for most operations encountered by swimmers and skin divers. Even with the glove set so that the fingers can be used, there is still a substantial web portion between adjacent fingers to aid in swimming, and still permit the fingers to be used.

In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the glove includes a fan-shaped sheet 30 sized and shaped to extend across the span of a swimmers hand. The back of the sheet includes loops 32 to fit over the swimmers fingers and secure the sheet to the palm side of the swimmers hand. A Wrist loop 34 secures the wrist portion of the glove to the swimmers hand. When the swimmer desires to use his fingers, he simply pushes the glove down to the position shown in phantom line until the fingers protrude over the edge of the glove by the desired amount. The sheet is of a suitable flexible material so that it easily deforms during this operation, and still permits the swimmer to have a substantial web between each of the fingers. Of course, the loops are sufficiently large to permit the fingers and Wrist to slide as needed to give the desired finger clearance.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, this invention provides a swimming glove which permits a swimmer to develop maximum power from his hands, and yet have his fingers free as may be required for various types of operations without having to remove the glove.

I claim:

A swimming glove to be worn on the hand of a swimmer, the glove comprising a first sheet of material of such size and shape to extend across the span of the swimmers hand and form a web between adjacent fingers,

and a second sheet of substantially the same size as the first, the two sheets being secured together at their side edges to form a fiat pocket between them and open at each end to receive the palm and fingers of a swimmers hand and permit the swimmers fingers to extend beyond the sheets, the two sheets being secured together adjacent one end of the pocket at laterally spaced points to form individual finger sections for each finger of the hand, each finger section being substantially wider and shorter than the finger that fits in it, and the Width of the opening at the other end of the pocket being about as large as the heel of the hand to permit the glove to be easily slipped over the hand toward the wrist to expose the fingers from the glove.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Potter Mar. 13, Boman Jan. 16, Baldridge Feb. 27, Ruddell June 5, Virneburg Mar. 27, Kramer May 29, Axiotes June 12, Friedlander Sept. 30,

FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Mar. 16, Germany Nov. 5,

Germany June 5, 

